This is Sean Couturier. The big (6.03, 192 and barely 18) power winger enters this year's Wolrld Junior Championships as the number one overall prospect for the 2011 draft. Although Oiler fans concede the Islanders and Devils are too dreadful to catch, Couturier isn't the only name they can watch Boxing week with an eye to the 2011 draft.

One of the over-arching themes of Steve Tambellini’s time as General Manager of the Edmonton Oilers has been the ongoing quest to make the team stronger, grittier, and more emotional. Few skillsets have been targeted with the same zeal and commitment with which the Tambellini Oilers have pursued players who fit those descriptors.

A question that has come up a few times is whether big players tend to have an advantage when taking faceoffs. There is a certain logic to the idea that they do: after all, bigger, stronger players should be able to outmuscle their smaller counterparts in the faceoff circle.

The data, however, suggests something else entirely: that there is no advantage to being big when it comes to taking face-offs.

It's safe to say that the Edmonton Oilers have already had a major impact on the World Juniors this Christmas. Taylor Hall and Magnus Pääjärvi are not scheduled to appear (their tour is on the left coast), but the future of the Oilers will be on display in Buffalo.